Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Archives - Page 9 of 24 - Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York

Talk to a Bankruptcy Lawyer Before Negotiating With an IRS Debt Collector

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Creditors, Debt, Scams / By Matt Leichter

Tax debts can bedevil debtors. They are not easily discharged in a chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, and they are priority claims that must be paid in full without interest in chapter 13. Unsurprisingly, the IRS’s collection efforts will cause more anxiety to debtors than mere credit-card-debt collectors. However, a recent New York Times article …

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7 Debts That Are Dischargeable in Chapter 13 But Not Chapter 7

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt / By Matt Leichter

The majority of consumer New York bankruptcy cases are filed in chapter 7 rather than chapter 13, usually for understandable reasons. Debtors choosing chapter 7 probably have few assets, low incomes, and they are mostly looking to discharge unsecured debts. Although chapter 13 might not appear right for many, it does discharge some unsecured debts …

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How to Keep Your Pets in New York Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Exemptions, Means Test / By Matt Leichter

More than two-thirds of American households have pets, and sometimes they run into financial difficulties. For the most part, though, New York bankruptcy protects debtors’ pets, but there are additional considerations that should assuage pet owners. New York exempts pets. Section 5205(a)(4) of the New York Civil Practice and Law Rules exempts domestic animals from …

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How Does the ‘Bankruptcy Flag’ Affect Credit Scores?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy / By Matt Leichter

One of the most common questions a New York bankruptcy lawyer hears is: How does bankruptcy affect credit scores? The best response is that credit scores are trivial compared to debtors’ financial problems. Bankruptcy is about accepting sunk costs of bad debt, even if it’s triggered by unfair circumstances such as a job loss or …

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U.S. Supreme Court: Bad Proofs of Claim Do Not Violate the FDCPA

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Creditors / By Matt Leichter

A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to hear a case deciding whether a chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor could sue a debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) for filing a proof of claim on an expired debt. For New York bankruptcy debtors, the answer already is no, but …

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New York Bankruptcy Court Prohibits Lien-Stripping of Debtor’s Duplex

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Debt, Foreclosure, Mortgage / By Matt Leichter

It’s an unfortunate fact of Chapter 13 that it does not allow debtors to cram down their mortgages to the market value of their properties the way they can auto loans. Specifically, debtors can’t cram down their principal homes’ mortgages, but cram-downs are possible for investment properties. One question that’s been popping up recently in …

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How Do Debtors Prioritize Their Debts?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Credit cards, Debt, Mortgage / By Matt Leichter

When debtors have too few funds to pay too many debts, they don’t try to distribute their money among all their debts. Rather, they prioritize some debts over others. The insight, courtesy of a blog post at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Web site, can help debtors and New York bankruptcy lawyers determine …

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Do Chapter 13 Debtors Have FDCPA Claims Against Creditors With Stale Debts?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Creditors, Debt / By Matt Leichter

It’s a question that came up in 2015, and the answer isn’t favorable to debtors in New York bankruptcy. When debtors file in chapter 13, creditors file proofs of claim because they usually expect to receive disbursements from the bankruptcy estate. In New York, it’s almost certain. The rub, though, is that sometimes creditors file …

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Circumstances, Not Race, Should Influence Bankruptcy Chapter Choices

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy / By Matt Leichter

Most New York bankruptcy debtors choose to file in chapter 7 or chapter 13 because Congress designed them to fit most consumer debtors’ circumstances. What motivates debtors to choose one chapter over another is a matter of debate, but a recent paper on bankruptcy debtors has found that aside from their financial circumstances, their races—and …

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Business Leases: Tricky in Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, Business Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Creditors / By Matt Leichter

The Bankruptcy Code doesn’t have a specific chapter addressing business bankruptcies. Debtors who own businesses must instead choose among options that are dispersed throughout the Bankruptcy Code based on their businesses’ and personal circumstances. One such circumstance that can influence the chapter debtor-owners choose is the fate of a lease for business property. For many …

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